LIBD Brain Repository

The LIBD brain repository is the largest collection of postmortem human brains for the study of neuropsychiatric disorders in the world.

To successfully achieve our mission of developing the next generation of treatments, we must first understand the underlying mechanisms that lead to illness that can only be realized through studying the brain itself.

2,200+ Human brains

Brains are donated to the repository by next of kin, and the samples come with confirmed diagnoses from a spectrum of developmental neuropsychiatric disorders including schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, autism, depression and anxiety disorders. The repository also includes tissue from neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer’s Disease; traumatic brain disorders, suicide victims, and healthy individuals across the human lifespan. Notably, the Institute has assembled over 100 brains with a known diagnosis of PTSD, the biggest collection of human postmortem brains with PTSD in the world. This unique asset helped to solidify the Institute as the Veteran’s Administration’s most critical provider of tissue for the study of PTSD.

In order to increase the current rate of sample collection, we have expanded our effort through the establishment of two new collection sites in Michigan and California. We anticipate that the new sites will not only increase the rate of collection to upwards of 500 cases-per-year, but also help to diversify the samples based on populations in these regions.